California Penal Code 188 – (a) For purposes of Section 187, malice may be express or …
(a) For purposes of Section 187, malice may be express or implied.
(1) Malice is express when there is manifested a deliberate intention to unlawfully take away the life of a fellow creature.
Terms Used In California Penal Code 188
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See California Penal Code 7
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the district and territories. See California Penal Code 7
(2) Malice is implied when no considerable provocation appears, or when the circumstances attending the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart.
(3) Except as stated in subdivision (e) of Section 189, in order to be convicted of murder, a principal in a crime shall act with malice aforethought. Malice shall not be imputed to a person based solely on his or her participation in a crime.
(b) If it is shown that the killing resulted from an intentional act with express or implied malice, as defined in subdivision (a), no other mental state need be shown to establish the mental state of malice aforethought. Neither an awareness of the obligation to act within the general body of laws regulating society nor acting despite that awareness is included within the definition of malice.
(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 1015, Sec. 2. (SB 1437) Effective January 1, 2019.)